thomas



(No Mode1.) 1 2 Sheets-Sheet 1'.

E. T. THOMAS.

SEWING MACHINE.

No. 248,530. Patented Oct. 18,1881.

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(No Model.) 2` Sheets-Sheet 2,.

E. T. THOMAS.

SEWING MACHINE.

110. 248,530. Patented 001. 18,1881.

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UNITED STATES PATENT @Tricia EDDY T. THOMAS, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SEWING-MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 248,530, dated October 18, 1881.

Application led July 15, 1881. (No modell) To all whom 'it may concern Be it known that I, EDDY T. THOMAS, of NewYork, counlyandState of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Sewing-Machines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification.

This invention in sewing-machines relates to improvements in mechanism for operating the feed and adjusting the strength of the spring controlling the take-up. The feed is regulated to control the length of stitch by 'means ot' an adjusting or regulating device (shown as a screw) carried by the rotating shaft, which, at

the front end, actuates'the needle-bar and needle. Thisfeed-adjusting device acts upon and moves longitudinally on the said shaft a conical cani, so that a portion thereof ofgreater or less radius will act upon an arm of an upright lever and vibrate the same a greater or less distance, a second cam on the same shaft moving the said upright lever longitudinally, thus imparting to the said upright lever such move ments as to enableitto move a horizontaluniversally pivoted feed-lever in such direction thatits front end in engagement with the usual feedbar will raise and move the said bar forward, a suitable spring (not shown) moving the said feed-bar downward and backward, as nowcommon, when the said bar is permitted so to be moved. The take-up arm, pivoted at the face of the head-covering plate, is acted upon by one end of a coiled fiat spring, the other end of which is engaged with an adjusting-lever having its center of motion coincident with that of the take-up lever, the adjusting-lever being shaped to co-operate with a notched lever-holdin g bar, also secured to the said plate.

Figurel represents, in side elevation and partial section, a sufcientportion of a sewingmachine to illustrate my present invention, Fig. 2, an under-side view of Fig. 1, Fig. 3, a sectional detail on the dotted lines xx,Fig.1; Fig. 4, a front view of the head-covering plate and attached take-up; and Fig. 5, the take-up lever,its adjustinglever,and springseparately.

The frame-work A, sh Little-lever b,forked upiight lever c to move it, cam d to actuate the forked lever, rotating needlebaractuating shaft e, fulcrum-points f, and feed-bar g are and may be of usual construction.

The feed-actuating lever h has its fulcrum on the same pin or stud, t', which serves as a fulcrum for the shuttle-lever l). This pin has on it a conical washer, j, which enters a conical seat in the shuttle-lever, the outer or larger end of the washer being acted upon bythe feedactuating leverh, pressed in contact therewith byan adjusting-screw, lo. The outer end of this plug is rounded, as is also the under side of the head of the screw 7c, so that the said feedlever h so held may have its outer end moved in a more 'or less elliptical path. Wear between thc said levers and their supporting parts may be compensated for by moving the screw lt and wedge-shaped washerj.

The rear end oflever h islooselyengaged or connected with the lower end of an uprightlever, Z, provided at its upper end with a horizontal shoulder, 2, and an. upright arm, 3, at right angles thereto. (See Fig. 3.) At its lower end the said lever Z has a shoulder, 4, to strike against the rear end of lever 71J at its upper side, (see Fig.1,) and the said leverl is slotted centrally7 at 5 (see Fig. 3) to t loosely the laterally-extended portion c' ofthe upright lever, c, the lever l rocking or vibrating and sliding vertically, or nearly so, on the said portion c' as a fulcrum as the said lever Z is moved by the feed-cams m a.

The feed-camm, which acts on the part 2 of the lever l and depresses it to depress the rear end of the lever h and raise its forward end, and with it the feed-bar g,is secured to the shaft e by a suitable set-screw, and is shown in Fig. 1 as made hollow, to receive within it the front or small end of the forward-moving feed-cam n as the latter is moved toward the front of the machine to lengthen the feed-stroke and stitch, such hollow cam m materially adding to the compactness of the parts. Yet I desire it to be understood that the cam m may, if desired, be made Solid and as a continuation ofthe cam a.

The hollow tapering sleeve-like cam a is connected with the needle-har-operating shaft by a pin, 7, extended through the said cam at its larger end, and through a longitudinal transverse slot, 8, in the said shaft. This slot 8 of the shaft also receives in it, at the rear of the cam n, a gib, p, and one side of the gib is acted upon by the inner end of the feed regulating or adjusting screw r, extended longitudinally through the rear end of shaft e, as shown IOO in Fig. l. A spring, o, in the hollow cam m acts upon and keeps the cam n pressed against the gib'p and the latter against the screw r. The spiral spring q holds the upper part of the lever l up against the cams m and n. Adjusting the cam n longitudinally on the shaft e by means of the screw r and gib p will so place the said cam that a part of it having the proper length of radius will act on the arm 3 and vibrate the lever l more or less for a long or short stitch, the said lever vibrating the lever 7L more orless, and in unison with it. These two cams on the uppermost shat'tin the overhanging arm of the machine determine all the movements of the feed. The needle-thread,before entering the eye of the usual needle, is led through the eye or loop at the lower end ot' the takeup lever of usual construction,which is commonly acted upon by a spring to keep the lever t pressed toward the left, as in liig. 4, to take up all the slack possible in the needle thread. This lever t has its fulcruin at t. The outer end of the spring u is connected with the said lever t a short distance from its fulerum or pivot. The inner end of this spring u is connected with an adjusting-lever, w, on the same center or fulcrum t. This lever ir, made of spring-steel, has a projection, x, to engage notches cfa notched quadrant-shaped holdingbar, y. Moving the lever w toward the lever t increases the force of the spring u on the lever t and the force with which it acts upon the needle-thread, and vice versa.

The gib p might be omitted and the screw r be made to bear against a part of cam u but I prefer to retain the said gib.

l claim- 1. The horizontal rotating needle-bar-actuating shaft e and its longitudinally-adjustable tapering cam and cam m thereon, combined with the upright lever having the faces 2 3 and shoulder 4, and with thelever hI and feedbar, substantially as described.

2. The horizontal rotating shaft e, the hollow cam m, spring 0, and tapering sleeve-cam n, combined with the feed-adjusting screw fitted longitudinally in the said shaft, substantially as described.

3. The horizontal rotating shaft, the adjustin g-screw r carried thereby, the gib fitted into the slot in the said shaft, and the cam m thereon, combined with the adjustable sleeve-like tapering cam n, and with the upright lever actuated thereby to impart movement to the cloth-feeding parts, substantially as described.

4. The adjustable sleeve-like tapering cam and cam m, combined with the upright lever l, slotted as described, to both rock and slide on its fnlcrum, as set forth.

5. The horizontally-vibrating shuttle-actuating lever b, and feed-bar-moving lever h,hav ing their fulera on the same pin,t', combined 'with the adjustable conical wedge j and the screw 7.1, substantially as described.

6. The take-up lever and spring u, connected therewith, combined with the lever w, also connected with and adapted to. move the said spring to increase or decrease its effect on the take-up lever, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofl Ihave signed my name to this spccication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

EDDY T. THOMAS.

Vitnesses:

T. H. Sonitonrcnn, JOHN E. HOGAN. 

